Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Last week Michael Perham, a 14-year-old schoolboy from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, became the youngest yachtsman to cross the Atlantic single-handed when he ended a 3,500-mile six-week journey on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Perham, who left Gibraltar last November, has been sailing since he was seven. He survived gale-force winds, giant waves and storms that "really do knock your teeth out", he said.Meanwhile 17-year-old Will Sharp is off to Africa aiming to become the youngest Briton to conquer all seven of the world's highest mountains. The challenge will take more than two years and lead him across seven continents.

And last April Jordan Maguire, 15, from Renfrewshire, realised his dream when he became the youngest person to reach the North Pole on foot. Joining a nine-man team, he had to drag a 176lb sled 111 miles across broken pack ice in temperatures as low as -22C to reach his destination. He had prepared for the trek by dragging tyres up hills and running every day and had spent a weekend in Norway to help him to acclimatise.

Which is excellent, as teens are always portrayed as bad, mindless thugs that mis-behave. Which they mostly aren't.